Best Campgrounds near Santee, CA

The best feature of this free camping area is the awesome metal sculptures right near this campground. 

Near the cute town of Borrego Springs, just a little off Borrego Springs road. Not secluded by any means. Please use existing pull outs. Keep it clean so we can continue to enjoy this free spot. 

It's one road in. The further back you go, the more privacy. I stayed fairly close to the front as I was only there one night.

Spots are close together, but your steps to the sand.

On the outer southern edge of Borrego Springs is this private yet free camp area.

A few dozen sites exist, each some five hundred feet or more apart. All have views of the surrounding mountains, and the wide open skies.

Borrego Springs is a dark sky community, which means lights are kept to a minimum, thus enabling great star viewing.

The area is renowned for its hiking and other outdoor activities. It is also known for its iron sculptures, which many exist within this camp area.

This is basically a parking lot with water and electric hookups only. There is a clean out station available. Great bicycle trail to Coronado and imperial beach.

Spent 4 nights here in February. A good amount of other campers, but not too crowded. I found the perfect spot tucked up against the rocks. I had my own private rock garden with so many variety of cacti and lots of birds. So peaceful.  I would definitely come back here again. 

No cell signal, but plenty of solar. Primitive camping--no amenities.

It is mostly military affiliated patrons at the park but it is open to civilians. It’s pretty pricey but everything is sam Diego is. Overall it’s a decent place but it would be nice to see Navy MWR actually invest in the place as the road is crumbling and there have been several major water main leaks in 2024 (to the point of having to shut the entire park water off). Instead of updating infrastructure they bought new signs and a fence and hired a bunch of people that do little. Also there’s a water park on the property that has been closed for years but the water is still maintained?? Yeaaaa that’s definitely the government for ya. For what it’s worth I stayed there long term while I was active duty. The only reason military members do it is to try to save a little money but the price has steadily gone up each year and is almost $2K a month now as of 3/25. If you’re actually RV’ing and not full timing I would check out Mission Bay or Sun RV as there is so much more to do and you’re near the ocean.

Large campground split into 3 sections. The one side is mainly for RVs and has hookups — would only recommend for RVs as they’re stacked up. The other 2 sides are a bit more spread out, especially the sites on the outside of the loops. It’s well taken care of and clean. Plus it has token showers with hot water, a dish washing area, flush toilets, fire pits, grills, and cell signal. Anza Borrego park has tons of awesome dispersed sites around the park that are free, but this was a good spot to take a little break from the desert and grab a hot shower.

What a great spot for some dispersed camping. There are sites all over the place. However, on the weekend it can get pretty busy. Fortunately, I was able to find a spot with not many people around at all. Where I was, I had zero Verizon signal.

Stayed here on way to Joshua Tree. Was better than the Wash area nearby. Nice trail and views from hills nearby. Also great view of night sky. Tour hike group stopped here in morning though so may not always be quiet.

Far from off-grid, but very nice camping! Level, painstakingly maintained campsites in a golf course resort. Well-maintained amenities, community activities, and gorgeous natural beauty surrounding a full-service RV park. Reserve a year in advance if you want a site during the nicest months of the year (winter). Our only issue was that a neighbor kept a giant light “display” on until well past the Dark Sky hours.

Even if you lock your generators up, securing with cable and locks and securing in the back of a covered pickup there are thieves cutting through truck covers, cutting locks and stealing generators…. Be WARNED!!!

First car camp in Anza Borrego.  Wasn't disappionted.

Grateful for free camping sites. Just outside of Julian which is a charming little town.

Decent for some seclusion/isloation as the road through is winding.

When in early January. 65-70 during the day. ~45 at night.

The quiet was my favorite part.

Stayed there for one month. Used generator intermittently during the non-quiet hours and neighbors were complaining. Instead of talking to us they when straight to the office like 12 year old tattletales to complain. Manager asked to come by and talk with her but was unable to come that day due to work schedule so I intended to talk with her the following day except when I got home they had left a letter on our RV telling us to leave at the end of our stay and never come back. Mind you this RV park is right next to I-8 and is extremely noisy throughout most of the day and night but an onboard generator during the daytime hours were just to much to bear…got it!

The laundry mat is $5 per load and several people have had their belongings stolen; at one time it was their own security guard who doing the stealing - you can’t make this stuff up. On the elite side there is a creek that runs through and is eroding the ground at the edge of the road and almost floods the park during rainy season. There’s too many reasons to NOT recommend this place. Take your hard earned money elsewhere.

This place is a jewel, and if you live in San Diego, right in your backyard! Rangers are super helpful and friendly, the campground is clean and quiet, and the setting is beautiful. There’s a tranquil pond, nice hiking trails, places for kids to play…. Just a fantastic option close to home for locals and well worth consideration for visitors to the area.

I followed the coordinates provided and it took us right to the trailhead. We saw a few other campers but overall, the campground was ours for the weekend. We did some light hiking and exploring but otherwise took advantage of the peace and quiet that was available to us. Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises and epic star gazing! Being a dark sky community, we were able to see so many stars and constellations. We saw shooting stars nearly every minute and we were also able to find Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,  and Neptune all with the naked eye! Next time we will pack a small telescope and I'm sure we will see more! 

Watch out for cactus and needles that are buried in the sand. It is not recommended to bring dogs or walk barefoot for this reason. Our sandals and boots both had many needles stuck in the rubber soles after the trip. Being in the valley, the winds were very light but there is a possibility of strong winds and sand storms so be prepared. Temps averaged 70-75 during the day and dropped to 38-42 at night but with a small fire and proper gear, we were plenty comfortable. Fire rings are provided at some locations however the ranger informed us we could build a rock ring and line it with tin foil which worked great. 

The road in was a bit rough in some areas. Wash out and silty sand could pose problems for smaller vehicles or campers so use your best judgement. Single track roads in/out so you will need to yield off the main road when encountering larger oncoming vehicles, which could also be difficult for inexperienced offroad drivers.

Campsites are right on top of each other. Highway is breathing down your neck. Beach is nice though.